Fascinated from an early age with stereographic photography, I have recently made it the central focus of my work. Under the pseudonym of analogueresistance I explore the possibilities that three-dimensional photography has to offer, especially in the realm of portraiture. The stereographic image has a sculptural quality to it, but the illusion of volume is created inside the viewer’s mind, causing the impression that the person portrayed is actually standing right in front of the viewer and creating an almost intimate dialogue between sitter and audience.

Presence is a key element in Ben Vine’s work: presence understood as keeping one’s mind in the present moment but also understood as the physical space we occupy. Being fully present in the here and now connects us to the world around us and makes our interactions with others more meaningful. Ben Vine’s portraits bring these two aspects of presence together in a body of work that aims to transport the viewer away from the gallery space by opening windows into other realities.

Street portraiture has fascinating social connotations. The act of walking up to a complete stranger and asking for permission to photograph them is bizarre to say the very least, but then so is having one’s portrait taken. When we sit for a portrait our mind immediately triggers two opposite and contradictory behaviors: on the one hand we wish to look good, calm and relaxed; we try to project what we would like to be perceived as, on the other hand we want to hide our weaknesses, fears and insecurities. Yet in this game of lies, in which we project certain things and hide others, people often turn out to be transparent, and both their aspirations and insecurities surface in a subtle and intangible way, creating a portrait that reveals the sitter’s character.